How to Store Your Food Safely at Home

We keep hearing and reading about incidents of food poisoning because of the consumption of food that develops harmful bacteria because of improper storage and temperature variations.

The disturbing fact about food that has been improperly stored is that the cooked food appears to smell and taste normal. 

However, the level of harmful bacteria in food that has not been stored safely can cross dangerous levels. 

In this article, we will learn about ways to store your food safely and correctly at home. 

Don’t Stuff Your Fridge with Food Items

It is seen that more and more households have given up on their habit of eating out and started preparing meals at home because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Making meals at home is a good thing for the health of family members. 

However, care should be taken that your refrigerator is not overstuffed with all kinds of groceries and food items. 

Most of the perishable food items need to be stored at a temperature of fewer than 4 degrees Celsius. But your fridge is not able to maintain this temperature as air circulation is not possible with an over-packed fridge. 

Make sure you keep checking the temperature inside the fridge with a thermometer to avoid rotting food items. 

Do not Freeze Food Items after Thawing

Many food items like meats and peas are stored inside the freezer to preserve them for a long time. Bacteria start to flourish in these food items once they have been taken out from the freezer and thawed before cooking. 

Avoid refreezing the leftover portion that has not been cooked. Make sure that the food is cooked as soon as it has been defrosted. Refrozen food that has been thawed once tends to develop high levels of harmful bacteria. 

Keep Cooked Food Away from Raw Food inside the Fridge

In many households, no differentiation is made between raw and cooked food items and they are simply stuffed inside the fridge without any consideration. The fact is that raw food has bacteria that can quickly travel to cooked food and contaminate it. 

You never know that you are eating contaminated food when you take out your cooked food stored inside the fridge. It is advisable to store cooked food in closed containers away from raw food to prevent contamination. 

Take Help from Technology

In these times of Coronavirus, it is not prudent to take any chances with temperature variations inside your refrigerator. 

Whether because of improper storage inside the fridge or because of fluctuations of the temperature inside the appliance, your food stored inside the refrigerator is exposed to a high risk of contamination from harmful bacteria. 

It means that harmful bacteria can multiply inside your fridge to contaminate your food items. 

You can prevent this from happening if you take the help of technology to maintain a constant temperature range inside your refrigerator. 

You can buy thermometers and place them inside the fridge and the freezer to know the exact temperature by simply taking a glance at them. There are also available remote temperature control gadgets that run on Wi-Fi and raise alarm whenever temperature or humidity levels in your fridge cross danger levels. 

You can learn more about these devices by visiting 'WeatherStationAdvisor'. Buy a reliable Wi-Fi-enabled temperature and humidity control device and remain assured of the safety of your food items stored inside the refrigerator. 

Storing Different Kinds of Food Items 

Never make the mistake of placing fresh fruits and vegetables inside the refrigerator before washing and rinsing them. 

If you have brought them from a grocery store, it is necessary to wash vegetables and fruits properly to get rid of any bacteria taking a free ride to your home. Allow dampness to go away as it can speed up the process of degeneration inside the fridge. 

When storing freshly purchased milk, make sure you place it back inside the fridge and bring older items at the front so that they can be used before their expiry date. Also, do not store milk in the door of the fridge as the temperature is at its highest there.  

When storing meat, poultry and fish, make sure you keep it in the fridge in the original wrapping. Harmful bacteria start to develop quickly once these items have been opened. 

Make sure to place these items in the coldest region of the fridge. If any of the chicken, beef, pork, or meat comes without Styrofoam wrapping, make sure to keep it on a plate before putting it inside the freezer. It will allow any dripping to be collected in the plate and not get deposited in the freezer. 

The safety of stored food items is very important for the health of your loved ones. You can prevent harmful bacteria from developing in raw and cooked food items stored inside the refrigerator by following the tips given in this article. 

You can also prevent the multiplication of harmful bacteria inside the refrigerator by making use of a remote temperature and humidity control device.